The Churchyard Maintenance Team  comprises around 15 willing volunteers who seek to keep the churchyard in good repair so that people may come and appreciate the beauty of the grounds.

Church land also includes Crow Wood to the west, Castle Hill to the North East and Church Avenue to the south.  The churchyard and church land is within the boundaries of the St. Mary Conservation Area and we are keen to enhance the churchyard so that it is a place of peace and rest for all. 

Team members can be found on two or three Saturdays a month busying themselves in activities such as grass cutting, pruning, planting, hedge trimming and generally keeping the churchyard tidy.

Once a year, in the Summer, we have a churchyard lunch day where we all get together for work and a Jacob’s Join lunch, although not much work gets done after lunch. 

In 2005 our labours were recognised by the award of Highly Commended in the Best Kept Churchyard category of the Best Kept Village competition. 

We are helped in our work by South Ribble Borough Council who undertake to cut the grass around six times a year and also control the  worst of the weeds.  We recently entered the BBC Breathing Places competition supported by SRBC, Lancashire County Council and Preston City Council. Sadly, we failed to win but we gained a lot of publicity in the process.

The residents of Church Avenue also play their part in keeping the area looking lovely, they mow the lawned parts of the avenue and generally take a keen interest in the area. 

In addition to the churchyard we occasionally decamp to the Church Hall to tidy up the grounds there. 

There is always plenty to do in the churchyard, especially in Spring and Autumn and we always welcome new members to the team.  No skills are necessary, only your  love of the area. If you would like to join us give me a ring and I’ll let you know when the next session is:

This month: